Yashpal Saxena

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Soon it will be a month since a young photographer Ankit Saxena was murdered for being in love with a Muslim girl in west Delhi’s Raghubir Nagar. Much has already been said in the media about the brutal murder while the detained perpetrators have admitted to their crime.

Ankit’s murder was chilling – his mother saw the son’s throat being slit by a sharp knife – a fact that would shock anyone. While they were rushing him to the hospital, the mother tried to stop the bleeding by putting her hand on the throat, but noticed her fingers going right into the slit throat.

It was all over in three seconds”, said the father, “My life was turned over in three seconds.

Ankit was their only child and a bread-earner since the father is in his sixties and a heart patient. Ankit had just begun rising in his career as a wedding photographer, and no less than a handsome model himself as his portraits at home reveal. Some of his photos show him in backdrops of different religious spaces such as a gurudwara or a mosque.

In these times when countless couples deciding to marry outside their religion or caste in India are being attacked either by mobs or their own relatives, this murder was bound to bring a communal backlash since a Muslim family was involved in killing a Hindu boy. Raghubir Nagar and surrounding areas were surely tense for a few days after the murder. But Ankit’s father, despite his personal tragedy, saved a larger tragedy from happening by appealing to the people through media not to see the perpetrators as Muslim.

Not only that. He now wants to keep his son’s memory and legacy alive by creating an institution or group that will carry on the message of love and harmony. However, the parents do not have the means to even carry out their daily lives, which involve treatment of their illnesses – Ankit’s mother has high blood pressure and diabetes.

After meeting the family and discussing their various requirements, we felt that some funds need to be raised to not only take care of their immediate medical needs, but also to fulfil Yashpal Saxena’s wish to create a group or institution for peace and social harmony. There can be no better cause than this for all of us to pool in our resources to deal with the trauma of the Saxena family at this moment.

Over the last few weeks, a number of civil society groups and ordinary citizens have met Ankit Saxena's family and they have decided to help Ankit's family raise funds for this family. All contributions will go directly into Mr Saxena's bank account.

Any amount - big or small - will help.

In the past, ordinary citizens like you and me have helped raise lakhs of rupees for fellow citizens like Afrazul Khan, who was hacked and killed in Rajasthan andChhotan, who was attached by a mob in Kasgunj.
(Campaign initiated and text drafted by Yousuf Saeed)

Organisations supporting this campaign:

Pinjra Tod, Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy, Dhanak, All India Progressive Women's Association, Pehchan and other concerned citizens and organisations.

Support Saxena family's beautiful initiative

by CrowdNewsing on April, 27 2018

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While looking at Ankit’s pictures on his phone, Mr. Saxena said that he wishes to keep his memory alive by “starting something connected with the youth”. We plan to start Ankit Saxena Trust, he said, adding that he has been in talks with an NGO which is helping him to materialise the idea. “The Trust will essentially work towards ‘Aman’ [peace and harmony]. It will also help those who want to marry out of their religion or caste,” he said.

Read more about the wonderful initiative by Mr Yashpal Saxena in The Hindu. Spread the word and ask your friends to support their ideas.